Medical Curricula on Intimate Partner Violence in Mozambique

Authors

  • Beatriz Manuel Department of Community Health. Faculty of Medicine. University Eduardo Mondlane. Maputo. Department of Public Health and Primary Care. Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. Ghent. Belgium. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0793-6242
  • Kristien Roelens Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. Ghent University. Ghent University Hospital. Ghent.
  • Armindo Tiago Department of Physiology. Faculty of Medicine. University Eduardo Mondlane. Maputo.
  • Ines Keygnaert Department of Public Health and Primary Care. Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. Ghent.
  • Martin Valcke Department of Educational Studies. Ghent University. Ghent.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.20344/amp.12049

Keywords:

Competencies, Curriculum, Intimate Partner Violence, Medical Students, Mozambique

Abstract

Introduction: The aim of the study described in this paper is to screen medical curricula in relation to the attention paid to intimate partner violence, by applying a framework derived from the international literature.
Material and Methods: We screened curricula of five Mozambican medical schools based on a state-of-the-art intimate partner violence curriculum framework. The latter framework was based on a review of the literature.
Results: Few medical schools of Mozambique could be identified addressing intimate partner violence in their curriculum. When tackled, intimate partner violence content is mostly dealt within the context of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Community Health and Forensic Medicine rotations. Intimate partner violence contents are integrated as stand-alone modules in some specific subjects. In none of the schools, specific teachers teaching intimate partner violence could be identified. No time allocation was specified to address the topic; no teaching and learning strategies could be identified invoking awareness or supporting basic knowledge acquisition; additionally, hardly any information about related assessment methods was found. Only in one medical school was the subject part of the formal curriculum.
Discussion: Intimate partner violence content is hardly and inconsistently addressed. The limited intimate partner violence content tracked in the Mozambican medical schools’ curricula, mainly addresses violence in general, for instance as identified in Orthopaedics or Surgery contexts and sexual violence in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. The inclusion of elements of intimate partner violence in the curriculum remains restricted, questioning the impact of medical education of future practitioners’ competencies.
Conclusion: Critical changes are needed in medical curricula to match the current epidemiology of intimate partner violence in Mozambique.

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Author Biographies

Beatriz Manuel, Department of Community Health. Faculty of Medicine. University Eduardo Mondlane. Maputo. Department of Public Health and Primary Care. Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. Ghent. Belgium.

Dr. Beatriz Manuel is a Senior Lecturer in the Community Health Department of the Faculty of Medicine of the University Eduardo Mondlane, head of research at the Center for Coordination of Gender Matters from the same University, from Maputo, Mozambique, and Ph.D. candidate at the University of Ghent, Ghent, Belgium.

Kristien Roelens, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. Ghent University. Ghent University Hospital. Ghent.

Prof. Dr. Kristien Roelens is an OB/GYN who did her PhD on intimate partner violence and who is responsible for the 'violence protocol' within the Ghent University Hospital. She is actively involved in training on violence and in the implementation and the scientific evaluation of the sexual assault referral centres in Belgium.

Armindo Tiago, Department of Physiology. Faculty of Medicine. University Eduardo Mondlane. Maputo.

Prof. Doutor Armindo Tiago with a PhD in genetics of complex cardiovascular diseases and specialist in endocrinology worked for several years as the head of the medical education department responsible for curricular design and monitoring and in this position academic quality assurance coordinator at the Faculty of Medicine, Eduardo Mondlane University.

Ines Keygnaert, Department of Public Health and Primary Care. Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. Ghent.

Dr Ines Keygnaert is a senior postdoctoral researcher and team leader of the Gender & Violence Team at ICRH-Ghent University, a WHO collaborating center on sexual and domestic violence. Her PhD was on sexual violence in vulnerable groups. She has outstanding experience in teaching on sexual and domestic violence and holistic management of victims within the university as well as for already employed health care workers and regularly advises governments and (inter)national organizations. She is coordinating the Belgian Sexual Assault Care Centre feasibility and piloting study as well as the first representative sexual violence study in Belgium.

Martin Valcke, Department of Educational Studies. Ghent University. Ghent.

Dr. Martin Valcke is a full professor at Ghent University and head of the Department of Educational Studies. He is specialized in the innovation of higher education, with a strong emphasis on medical education; see http://www.researcherid.com/rid/H-6693-2012.  He is the coordinator of the DESAFIO project at the University Eduardo Mondlane, Maputo, Mozambique.

Published

2020-01-03

How to Cite

1.
Manuel B, Roelens K, Tiago A, Keygnaert I, Valcke M. Medical Curricula on Intimate Partner Violence in Mozambique. Acta Med Port [Internet]. 2020 Jan. 3 [cited 2024 Mar. 28];33(1):22-30. Available from: https://www.actamedicaportuguesa.com/revista/index.php/amp/article/view/12049

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Original